The present invention relates to an improvement in an ice fishing tip-up. More specifically, a device for holding a commonly used ice fishing jigging rod in a collapsible bracket designed in a tip-up arrangement.
Jigging rods are commonly used in ice fishing when a sportsman fishes directly over an ice fishing hole, holding a rod while jigging a lure up and down through the hole in order to attract fish. An ice fisherman may have several jigging rods with him on a fishing trip supplied with varying line sizes, lures and rod and reel strengths. These rods may be used to varying degrees, depending on the type of fish being caught or desired.
Commonly, when ice fishing, an ice fisherman will fish out of a house or sheltered structure using a jigging rod in order to catch fish. Fisherman will also, at the same time, place holes drilled in the ice some distance away from the house, and supply these holes with what is known as tip-ups or unattended ice fishing devices. These devices will have some type of indicator that will signal the ice fisherman in the house when there has been a bite on that line. The reason for drilling holes far away from the house is so that an ice fisherman may fish for larger game fish away from the house, while jigging for smaller game fish within the house. This will result in larger game fish being away from the house, preventing them from scaring smaller game fish away. It may also be done to simply cover more area.
One of the problems with commonly used tip-up rods is that the device can be rather cumbersome or large, and not easily carried around by ice fisherman who like to remain rather mobile while fishing. A further problem with tip-up type rods is that they can be rather expensive and thus, it is not convenient to have a tip-up rod that utilizes varying degrees of line strength or setups.
From this, it follows that it would be desirable to supply tip-up apparatuses that can be used with common jigging rods and further hold a jigging rod in a tip-up fashion and thus, unattended with some sort of signaling device. This type of device could take advantage of fisherman""s existing jigging rods.
Prior art fishing rigs of this type have existed for some time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,333 issued to Debreczeni discloses a fishing rig which uses a jigging type rod attached to a knock down base. The problem with this design is that the base and jigging rod must be designed to match, thus the base cannot be used with any commonly available jigging type rod as a special mounting system must be utilized.
Another such assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,965 issued to True. This patent also utilizes a tip-up base for holding a jigging type rod, however the jig rod must be supplied with the proper attachment points to match the base. Thus, this system cannot be used with any commonly available jigging type rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,730 issued to Johnson discloses a base section having a rotatable bar through the middle made to match with a jigging rod. Although this patent somewhat solves the problem of connecting to commonly available jigging rods, the apparatus or connection point to the jigging rod limits its use with all jigging rods. Further, the base is not very portable as it is a one piece base which is designed in a non-foldable or non-collapsible structure.
From this discussion, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a collapsible tip-up frame that can be used with most commonly available ice fishing jig rods, and further to have the tip-up base supplied with some type of signaling means in order to allow a fisherman to determine when a bite has occurred on a given line.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a fishing implement that is light in weight, easy to disassemble and fold into a compact package, and which can be quickly packed away for transport or long term storage purposes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an implement that provides an accurate method of signaling when a fish has taken the offered bait which enables the user to set the hook in a timely and effective manner and maximizes his fishing efficiency.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide such a means that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and which can be used with readily available ice fishing jigging rods.
These objectives are accomplished by the use of a folding frame apparatus that contains a removable and pivoting rod housing assembly that is used to hold an ice fishing rod in the desired position. The frame of the present invention is constructed in a manner so that the vertical rod support which is employed to hold the fishing rod in an elevated position is pivotally mounted to the base which allows the invention to be opened to the deployed position or closed to the stored position as desired by the user. The transformation from the deployed to the stored position is accomplished by the user compressing the lower end of the vertical rod support and the associated spring so the vertical support can be rotated by the support retainer located on the frame base. This allows the vertical rod support to be rotated down until it is parallel to the sides of the frame base. Conversely, to deploy the vertical rod support one simply rotates it up past the support retainer where it will snap into the appropriate position.
The present invention is also equipped with a signal flag assembly which consists of a flag, rod, and spring assembly. During the rod set-up in which the ice fishing rod is attached to the invention, the flag rod is attached to the pivoting rod housing assembly at the flag tab in a manner which pulls the tip of the rod down towards the base which loads the flag spring. When a fish takes the offered bait, the rod moves which in turn causes the pivoting rod housing assembly to move releasing the flag rod and signal flag. The load on the flag spring is then released causing the flag to abruptly move to an upright position alerting the fisherman to the presence of a fish on the end of his line.
The pivoting rod housing assembly of the present invention is designed in a manner so that it can be used with almost all of the ice fishing rods on the market today. This is accomplished by several variations including the use of an attachment apparatus consisting of a section of angle iron oriented with the open V pointed upward. This provides a point where the tubular handle of most ice fishing rods can be fixedly attached to secure it to the invention. This greatly increases the flexibility of the present invention as it can be used with a sportsman""s present inventory of fishing gear and does not require the additional expense of specifically designed jigging rods.
The pivoting rod housing assembly is further supplied with a pivotal restrictor bar section. This section is basically a U-shaped portion extending outward from the rod housing assembly. This U-shaped section or pivotal restrictor bar works in conjunction with the rod support receiver to limit the amount of tilt or movement that the rod housing assembly may span. Thus, the travel of the rod housing assembly in an arc or rotating fashion is restricted at both it""s upward and downward point of travel by this pivotal restrictor bar as it comes into contact with the rod support receiver.
An alternative method of construction for the present invention is the use of a vertical rod clamp support that is built in an X-shaped configuration having an area of confluence at the center. The use of this X-shaped configuration stiffens the clamp support which adds a degree of stability to the mounting of a fishing apparatus to the invention and resists any twisting of the clamp support when any torque is placed on the rod support receiver during fishing operations. The added strength of this construction method not only increases the usefulness of the invention, but also makes it more durable for a longer useful life.
Additionally, an alternative method of constructing the rod housing assembly is also provided which employs a U-shaped rod housing assembly that is entirely constructed of a single piece of heavy gauge wire. This method of construction not only produces a rod housing assembly that is inexpensively produced, but also one that works effectively with the remaining components of the present invention in its intended purpose of pivotally holding a fishing rod in the correct position with respect to the remainder of the invention.